Washing machine



Sept. 22, 1936. w, FRAN LIN 2,054,797

WASHING MACHINE Filed Feb. 6, 1953 s Sheets-Sheet; 1

M2 //7 w v km /08 2:1 109 I /27J6706J7 fiJ/IZ 14 Sept. 22, 1936.

R. W. FRANKLIN WASHING MACHINE Filed Feb. 6, 1933 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Sept.22, 1936. R. w. FRANKLIN WASHING MACHINE Filed Feb; 6, 1933 3Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Sept. 22, 1936 NT OFFICE WASHING MACHINE Ray W.Franklin, Cedar Rapids, Iowa Application February 6,1933, Serial No.655,407

Claims.

This invention relates to washing machines and particularly to washingmachines of the hydraulic type in which the articles are washed by theimpact and subsequent scrubbing action of the washing fluid.

The washing machine shown in the drawings and hereinafter described isparticularly applicable for use in washing dishes, eating and cookingutensils, and the like, but its principles of operation and structuremay readily be adapted for other uses.

- I have observedin the washing of dishes and like articles that tubshave been utilized in which the dishes are placed either by means of abasket or by setting them inside of the tub and the dishes are washed bypassing water over the surfaces thereof.

' These dishwashing machines were not satisfactory for several reasons.While these devices may have employed motor driven pumps and the likefor flowing water over the dishes,'it was extremely difficu'lt to obtainhigh' velocity and high volume of water flow. Furthermorelarge volumesof hot water were needed and the difficulty and expense of! heating thewater was high. It was oftentimes necessary that considerable hand laborbe used in cleaning the dishes of food material before they were placedin the washing machine because the machine was not adapted for handlingor taking care of this solid material.

Another difliculty was that the dishes were not well washed on allsides, as one dish might'shield another from the washing action of thewater.

Another difficulty was that air and foam became mixed with the waterwhile it was being circulated thus detracting from the efliciency of themachine as a washing agency. The machines were noisy'because air wassucked in through the passageways of the water circulating system. No

provision was made for withdrawing the solid material which collected inthe water circulating system. v

I have" thoroughly studied theproblems met with in the devices of theprior art and, after considerable experimentation and thought, havedevised means for overcoming the difllculties of the devices of theprior art. h

An object of my invention is to provide, in dishwashing machine of theabove character, means whereby all sides of the dishes are presented atone time or another to the currents of water.

Another object of my invention is to provide means'whereby a smallvolume of water may be used in the operation of washing a batch 'ofdishes, but such that a high velocity and volume per unit. of time ofthe washing solution may be I secured; that is, means whereby with arela- 5 tively small total supply of washing fluid, an extraordinarilyhigh speed of circulation and a large volume of water flow is secured.-

Another object of my invention is to provide means whereby when themachine is stopped the 10 washing fluid is withdrawn into a chamber wellbelow the dishes which have been washed.

Another object of my inventionis to provide' means for separating thesolid material out of the washing fluid and for discharging it from themachine.

Anotherobject of. my invention is to provide means for supplying waterto the pump without permitting the admission of air. This result is ofparticular importance because it is extremely desirable that a solidcurrent of water only should strike the dishes. If air is mixed with thewater the efiiciency of the machine as a washing device is materiallylowered and the machine becomes noisy by reason of the flow of airthrough the various conduits and passageway s.

Another object of my invention is to provide means for selectivelydischarging washing'fluid from the machine or for directing the fluidonto 3 the dishes for washing them. Another object ofmy invention isto-provide adjustable means for regulating the flow of washing fluid tothe pump.

Still another object of my invention is to provide in a basket or likedevice for holding the dishes, means for cushioning the dishes toprevent them from being broken and to prevent them from being marked bythe basket.

Other and furtherfeatures and objects of my 40 invention will be moreapparentto those skilled in the art upon a consideration of theaccompanying drawings and following specification, wherein is disclosedseveral exemplary embodiments of the invention, with the understanding,however, that such changes may be made therein as fall within the scopeof the appended claims without departing fromthe spirit of theinvention.

In said drawings:

Figure l is a view in perspectiveof a device. constructed according toone embodiment of my invention. Portions of the cabinet and tub havebeen broken away to show the parts of the device. I 56 elevation of awashing machine constructed according to another embodiment of myinvention.

Figure is'a view partly in elevation and partly in section of a portionof a modified form of basket structure constructed according to oneembodiment of my invention.

Figure 6 is an enlarged perspective view of a portion of one of thevertical members of the basket shown in Figure 5, and

Figure '7 is a view in section of a-fragmentary portion of the lowerwall of the pump housing of the device shown in Figures 1 to 3.

Referring now to Figurel there is shown at I8 generally a cabinet whichacts as a housing for the washing machine and as a support for thedriving motor and with the top portion adapted to act as a drain board.The cabinet may be of sheet. metal suchas the non-rusting alloys. Thecabinet here shown is comprised of angle iron legs I I, a flat top l2,side walls l3, and a shelf M. The parts may be bolted or welded togetherin any desired manner.

The top I2 is provided with a circular opening l6, and a cylindrical tubI! is located within the enclosure formed by the walls l3 of thecabinet, with the upper edge of the tub projecting through the openingI6 in the top l2.

The bottom edge of the cylinder I! (see Figures 2 and 3) is bentinwardly to form a flange l8 and this inwardly bent flange is clampedbetween a ring [9 and the outwardly projecting flange 2| of a bowl 22which forms a housing for the operating and actuating parts of thedevice. The flange 2| and the ring l9 are clamped on the flange I8 bymeans of screws 23 thus forming a water tight joint. Theflange 2| isprovided with a plurality of outwardly projecting ears 24 and the earsare provided with suitable upwardly projecting flanges 28 to permitfastening the machine as a unit to the walls |3 of the cabinet i8.

' The bowl 22 is comprised of four concentric cylinders of decreasingdiameter. The uppermost of these cylinders 21, with the inwardlyprojecting flange 28 which joins it to the next cylinder, de fines achamber 28 in which a basket carrier ring 3|, hereinafter moreparticularly described, is housed. The next smaller cylinder 32, withits inwardly projecting flange 33 defines a chamber 34 which may betermed the intake chamber. The third and next smaller cylinder 35 isprovided with a relatively narrow inwardly projecting flange 38 at itslower edge and with a ledge 31 at its upper edge to receive a circularplate 39 hereinafter described. The cylinder 36, the flange 38, and theplate or disk 38 deflnea chamber 4| which may be termed the pump chamberand an impeller type pump 42 having impeller blades 43 is located withinthis chamber.

The smallest cylinder 48 is'entirely closed at the bottom by'means ofthe disk .41. and the chamber 48 defined by these parts may be termedthe drainage well or drainage chamber. A ledge is provided at the upperinside edge of the cylinder. 48 for the reception of a ring like plate58. Outlet from the drainage chamber 48 is provided by means of a tappedopening 5| and drainage conduit 52.

drilled as at 54 to provide a bearing for'the impeller drive shaft 56.The drive shaft is driven by means of a pulley 51, (see Fig. 1) thedriving means being hereinafter more particularly explained.

A cap 58 is fastened to the top of the boss 53 as by means of screws 59.A washer 6| is located within a suitable recess in the cap 58 and thiswasher closely embraces the shaft 56 and is held in place by the screws59 which secure the cap 58 to the boss 53.

A packing washer 62 is located within the chamber 54 of the boss 53 andthis washer is provided with an outwardly and downwardly sloping bevelededge 63 adapted when the washer is driven downwardly to drive packingmaterial 64 in about the shaft 56 to form a water tight packing. Thelower end of the chamber 54 is closed by means of a beveled flange 56which is also adapted to drive the packing material into a close fitabout the shaft 55. Downward pressure on the washer 52 is accomplishedby means of a spring 6'! which is located within the chamber 54 andbears against the lower side of the cap 58 and the upper face of thewasher 62. The hub of the impeller 42 is secured to the upper end of theshaft 56 by means of a key 68 and the blades 43 of the impeller occupythe chamber 4| as previously stated. The blades are curved in accordancewith the usual practice so that when the blades are rotating in thedirection shown in Figure 2 water entering I near the hub is thrown outradially to enter various 'water circulation passages hereinafterdescribed.

' The plate 38 is provided with a circular central opening II and theopening is surrounded by a domed structure 12 having louver openings. 13adapted to permit water to pass therethrough and through the circularopening into the pump chamber. The top ofthe domed member 12 is closedoff by means of a disk I4 which is secured thereto by means of screws16. The outer edge of the disk .14 droops downwardly as shown at 11 toassist in controlling the flow of water into the pump. 1

The location and configuration of the dome H and the height, location,and configuration of the plate are of extreme importance because thesemembers control the flow of water into the pump and if these members areproperly constructed and located a solid stream of water having few orno air bubbles mixed therewith will flow from the pump thus resulting inhigh washing eiflciency and very little noise while if these parts arenot properly shaped and located the washing machine will be ineflicientand noisy.

This point will be hereinafter further explained. A second boss 8| isformed inside the cylinder 32 and on the bottom flange 33 and projectsupwardly to a level substantially even with the top of the plate 14 andthe top surface of the flange 28 of cylinder 21. The boss 8| isvertically drilled asat 82 and a basket-carrier-drive-shaft 83 isrotatably mounted within the boss by means of a washer 84 held inplaceby'screws 85 and pump packing 8'|- and springs 88 in substantiallythe same manner as the pump packing previously described. g

A pinion 88 is keyed to the upper projecting end of the shaft 83 andthis pinion is in mesh with gear teeth 8| formed on the inner wall ofthe basket carrier ring 3|.- The basket carrier ring is provided withdepending flanges shown at 92 adapted for rotatably mounting a pluralityof rollers 93 which roll on the flange 28 of cylinder 21 and thus permitthe ring 3I to be rotated by the pinion 89. Other rollers 94 arehorizontally disposed in suitable recesses in the, ring 3| and are sopositioned as to engage the inner wall of the cylinder 27. It mayreadspeed of rotation considerably ily be understood that the ring 3|may be placed within the basket carrier ring chamber 29 and the teeth 9|will be in engagement with the teeth Of'the pinion 89 so that when theshaft 83 is rotated the ring will be rotated within the cham ber. Ashield 96 is placed over the pinion 89 to prevent entrance into theteeth of particles of material.

The ring 3I is provided with a'n'inwardly projecting flange 91 whichforms a means for supporting the basket 98. The conventional basket 38here shown is formed of a web of uprights 99 and horizontally-extendingbars IOI and a latticework bottom I02.

Referring now more particularly to Figure 1, the shaft 56 is driven bymeans of the pulley 51 which is rotated by means of a belt I01 from thepulley I08 on motor I09. The motor may be fastened tothe shelf I4 of thecabinet I or to any other convenient part of the cabinet as byrotationin suitable bearings II3 which are a'.

part of a bracket I I4 which is fastened to the bottom of thedrain-chamber bottom-closureplate 41. A bevel gear I I6 is mounted onthe shaft I I2 at the opposite end from the worm I I I and this bevelgear is in mesh with a second bevel gear II! which is mounted on a shaft83, which in turn is rotatably mounted within a bearing II9, which isalso a part of the bracket H4. The shaft 83 is the basket-carrierdriveshaft previously mentioned.

It is apparent that when electric power is furnished to the motor I09the shaft 56 will be rotated at a relatively high speed thus rotatingthe blades 43 of the pump impeller at a speed sufllcient to pump aconsiderablevolume of water at high velocity to the tub of thedishwasher.

The basket-carrier-driveeshaft 83 will also be rotated through the trainof gears II1, I I6, I I I and I06, but of course at a much lower speedbecause of the gear reduction. Rotation of thebasket-carrier-ring-drive-pinion 89 produces rotation of thebasket-carrier 3I and since the ratio of the number of teeth on thebasket-carrier ring to the number of teeth on the drive pinion is high,the basket-carrier ring will rotate at a lower than that of the speed ofrotation of the shaft 83.

There are a plurality of openings such as the openings I2I in the sideWall of the pump chamber 4I. While any number of these openings may beemployed I prefer to use eight openings and to use two sets of conduitsfor conducting ,water forced through these openings from the pump upinto the tub. One'set of conduits, comthe sidewall of the cylinder 36,.and areprovided with other flanges I24 at their upper ends adapted to bebolted to the under side of the flange 2 I' at the upper edge of thebowl 22. The conduits.

I22 communicate with the channels I04 in the uprights I03 and waterissuing from the pump I provide a number of other conduits I26 and theseconduits are preferably flattened so that they may be brought up on theoutside of the tub I1 between the tub and the walls I3 of the cabinet.The conduits I26 .are also provided with flanges I2'I, similar to theflanges I23, which are also bolted to the side wall of the cylinder 36to cover the remaining four openings therein. The upper ends of theconduits I26 are secured within a hollow bracket I28 which communicateswith a plurality of openings I 29 at the top of the tub. In a preferredembodiment of the invention more particularly illustrated in Figure 2, Ishape the walls of these brackets in such a manner that water isdirected tangentiallyinto the tub. I have found that by directing thewater tangentially less splashing occurs and the articles in the basketare struck with higher velocity and through a wider angle.

The circulation of thewashing fluid through' the machine will now bedescribed. In operation hot water is poured into the machine until thewater reaches a level slightly above the top of the plate "I4. It isapparent from inspection of the drawings that the bowl 22 requires onlya very small amount of water in relation to the size of the tub I1, andthis quanin the washing operation. When the motor I09 is energized theimpeller blades 43 revolve throwing the water outwardly through theopenings I2I in the wall of cylinder 36. The water rushes upwardlythrough the conduits I22 and I 26 and -is discharged into the tub in twosets of four streams each. The streams of water flow smoothly and withhigh velocity onto the articles in the basket 98 and theimpact andscrub- .tity of water is all that is necessary or desirable bing actionof the water washes the articles thoroughly in a very few minutes.

As has been stated, it is highly important that the streams of water befree of bubbles of air and without trying to explain the theory ofhydraulics involved, I have found that the shape and configuration ofthe dome I2 and the position and configuration of the plate I4 is highlyimportant. It is found that the dome and plate constructed according tomy invention so regulate the influx of water to the pump that air is notpermitted to enter, and I have found that merely to vary the-size of theopenings I3 has no appreciable result in preventing the entry of airinto the circulating system. With the plate I4 in place on the dome andspaced at a proper distance from the plate 39, it is found that no airenters into the washing fluid and that the very small amount of watercontained in the bowl 22 is quite suflicient for providing solid streamsof water which are highly eflicient as a washing agency. The fact thatby this construction I am enabled to use a very small amount of water ishighly important because a small volume of water is more readilyintroduced into and discharged from the tub, and it is much lessexpensive and takes less time to heat thev small amount of waternecessary.

Another decided advantage of my invention is that the large passageways,the construction of the dome I2 'and plate I4 and the drainage chamber48 are effective to cause separation of the particles of solid foodmaterial from the washing fluid. Such material passes downwardly desiredthe co-acting by means of a dis through the openings 13 and 1], throughthe space between the blades of the pump, and through the opening I3Ibetween the cap 58 and the ring 50 at the top of the chamber 48 and intothe drainage chamber 48. This solid material readily separates from thewashing fluid and may be drained off from the drainage or' settlingchamber 48 by opening a suitable valve I32 at the lower'end of the pipeconnection 52, thus permitting the material to be discharged through thedischarge pipe or conduit I33. If walls of the ring 50 and cap 58-mayslope outwardly as illustrated in enlarged detail in Figure '1 so thatthe, projecting edge of the ring 50 will separate the solid materialfrom the washing fluid as it is discharged Erom the vanes of the pumpand pass the material through the openings I3I into the settling chamber48 by reason of the fact that such material, being usually heavier thanwater, tends to settle toward the bottom. A separator action is thus setup which materially assists in separating the solid material from thewashing fluid and this separating action is a very important function ofmy device.

As has been hereinbefore stated the location of the cap 14 with relationto the bottom plate 39 is very important and, therefore, in Figure 4 Ihave illustrated a means whereby the position of this cap may beadjusted. In this embodiment of my invention the dome 12a is providedwith threads on its outer wall. 14a is provided with a depending flange14b adapted to fit over the flange 12b of the dome and is provided withsuitable threads on its inner wall adapted to engage the threads on theouter wall of flange 12b. The cap 14a may thus be rotated tomove it upand down with relation to the plate 39a and thus the position of thecap, which will insure most effective and eflicient washing fluid flowcontrol, may. be secured.

It is sometimes desirable, as for instance when the machine is installedin .a recess which does not have a drain, th't means be provided forpumping water out o the tub through an upwardly-extending pipe of somecharacter.

Thedevice shown in Figure 4 illustrates a means by which water may bepumped from the machine by the same pump which is employed to circulatewater within the machine. In the modified embodiment of my inventionshown in Figure 4 I utilize substantially the same water inletconstruction and water pumping mechanism, but in order to utilize thepump 42 for pumping water from the tub, I eliminate the drain chamber 48and close off the bottom of the pump chamber 4I I40 and insert a ringI4I between the outer ends of the impeller blades 43 and the walls ofthe bowl 36a.

There may be any number of openings through the walls of the ring I;4Icorresponding to the number of conduits for conducting water to the tub,but the device shown in Figure 4' is provided with two diametricallydisposed openings I42 so that when the. ring is in its normal position,the openings I42 coincide with the openings I2Ia in the walls of thecylinder 36a, and when the pump is actuated, water is driven through theopenings I42, I2Ia and through conduits I220. and I26a, and back intothe tub where the water drains through the openings in the dome 12a. The

direction the water normally takes is shown by the arrows. A thirdopening I43 is provided in the wall of the cylinder 361: at a spaceddistance The capfrom one of the openings I42 and the ring may be rotatedto a position illustrated by the section I42b so that the opening I42will coincide with the opening I43 and the openings I2 Ia will becovered by the ring I whereby water from the pump is driven out throughthe opening I42, the opening I43, and up through an additional conduitI44 and out through any suitable drainage connection such as the hoseillustrated at I46 so that water from the tub may be conducted to anypoint such as a sink, a drain, or the like, where it may be discharged.

The ring I M is adapted to be rotated by means of a pinion I41 which islocated in asuitable chamber I48 provided by extending the plate I40downward to form a cup-like member I49. The pinion I41 is mountedupon ashaft .I5I which passes through a suitable packing nut indicated at I52which is threaded to permit its close threaded engagement into thecup-like member I49.. The ring MI is provided with teeth I53 through asmall sector at its lower edge and-these teeth are in geared engagementwith the teeth of the pinion I41. Rotation of the shaft I5I is securedby means of a hand wheel I54.

By means ofv the structure just described the machine may be drained ofwater by the same pump which is used to circulate the water, which is,of course, a decided advantage.

I have found also that the baskets usually used for holding. dishes andthe like are not entirely satisfactory for the reason that the dishesmay be broken by the basket or frequently are marked by the zinc orother metal which forms thebasket framework. Furthermore the baskets ofthe prior art are not always satisfactory for draining water off thedishes and their construction is an expensive manufacturing operation. I

I have therefore devised a basket which I feel has considerableadvantage over the usual construction. This basket is illustrated inFigures 5 and 6. Figure 3 illustrates a conventional basket. The mainsupporting members of the basket are comprised by the uprights I6I andrings I62 and I63. The uprightsIGI are prefer: ably made of metalstampings the sides of which have been bent toward each other to form aU-shaped channel as indicated at I64 and the ends of which, as indicatedat I66, are curved in order that-they may engage the rings I62 and I63.I prefer to insert T-shaped members I61 preferably of resilient materialsuch as rubber in the channels I64 with the top of the T-shaped memberrounded as shown and projecting from the channel to form a buffer whichprevents the dishes or other articles from striking the uprights I6I.The base of the T-shaped member, of course, is inserted in the channelI64 and is held there by friction since there is practically no forceacting to drive the T-shaped members from the channel.

The rings I62 and I63 which may also be of V-shaped cross section mayalso have T-shaped inserts, as indicated in Figure 5, which also serveto prevent the dishes from being broken or marked. Other rings I68 areprovided which are adapted to be received within suitable recesses I69which are provided in the walls of the uprights freely therefrom, andopenings may be provided as illustrated at I13 to assist in drainingwater from the basket. The edges of these openings are preferablycovered by means of grommets I14 of resilient material such asrubberwhich also aid to prevent the dishes and other articles being washedfrom coming into contact with the metal parts of the basket.

The shape and location of the drain ,disk I12 of the area of theopenings therein are of importance as the disk forms a control means forcontrolling the flow of washing fluid when the machine is in operation.With the disk in place the-washing fluid does not pass as quickly fromthe tub and the washing action is improved. The action of the disk inthe basket is similar to that of the dome i2 and plate 14 previouslydescribed. The total area of the openings 113 should be such that theflowof washing fluid therethrough ishinhigh velocity and large'jvolumeof water flow is secured with a relatively small total volume of washingfluid. The device constructed according to my invention is simple,durable,- and relatively inexpensive.

Although I have described several embodiments of my invention it isapparent that the invention issusceptible to a wide modification andvariation in structure and usage. Such modifications may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in theap-.

pended claims.

-I claim as my invention: a 1. In a washing machine, a tub, a basketwithin the tub, and a support for the basket comprising a flanged memberin the shape of a circular track having vertically andhorizontallyextending walls mounted in the bottom of the tub and a ringmounted within the flanged member and having rollers in the periphery ofthe ring for rotatably supporting it on the flanged member, some of therollers being, adapted to roll on the vertical walls of the flangedmember and other of the rollers being adapted to roll on thehorizontally-extended portion of said flanged memed on the basketcarrier ring support, a pump rotatably mounted within the pump chamber,means for controlling the flow of water to the pump, and means fordriving the pump. and rotating the ring.

3. In a washing machine, a tub, a bowl beneath I the tub consisting of aplurality of communicating cylindrical chambers, of decreasing diameterfrom top to bottom, to provide an intake cham her, a pump chamber and adrainage chamber, a pump within the pump chamber, means for controllingthe flow of water to the-pump comprising a plate covering the pump andhaving a central opening therein, a dome shaped member having aplurality of -verti ca l slots arranged around its outer face in flxedspaced relationship therein and located about the central opening of theplate and a second plate adj'ustably mounted on top of the dome memberand having its outer edge curved downwardly and conduits for conductingfluid from the pump to the tub.

- 4. In a washing machine, a tub, a bowl located beneath the tub, a;pump within the bowl, the bowl being formedwith a cylindrical drainagechamber beneath the pump, the bowl having a wall between the pump andthe drainage chamber and the wall having radial openings therethroughthe sides of which are adapted to separate the solid material from thewashing fluid as it is discharged from the pump, means for controllingthe flow of washing fluid to the pump and discharge conduits from thepump to the tub.

5. In a washing machine, a, tub, and a bowl below the tub, the bowlbeing'provided' with walls arranged to provide four chambers, thediameters of which are successively less from top to bottom,

a basket carrier ring'disposed in the uppermost of these chambers, afluidcontrol means located within the next of these chambers andconnecting with a pump, a centrifugal pump located within the nextsmaller chamber, discharge conduits leading from the pump to the tub,and a separatv in disk having radial openings therethrough arranged'todivide oi! the last mentioned chamber from the lowest or drainagechamber.

as? w. ram.

